BALBEC profile picture

BALBEC

Keep discovering BALBEC as seasons go by...

About Me

If you like our songs, here is where to find more :
You can buy our CDs, secured by PayPal, directly from us by clicking on the desired album cover :
Manufactured (2007) our latest 4-tracks single for 8 EUR (shipping included)
Behind The Red Curtain (2006), 11 songs for 13 EUR (shipping included)
From Mud To Gold (2004), 7 songs for 10 EUR (shipping included)
or you can order the 'From Mud To Gold' CD from Drunkdog-records.com
- Selected on LeMouv' radio, you can also listen to 'Addict' here
- From AOL Music contest 2006, another track Don't Love You
Take care
BALBEC was created as a band, on the foundations of a solo project, in March 2002. They made their first self-produced demo album, Including Pauses, in December 2002. In April 2004 BALBEC released the 7-track album From Mud To Gold. Two years later, they recorded Behind The Red Curtain, an 11-track album, and in the following spring the 4-track single Manufactured, probably their most hit-laden piece of work. BALBEC is still looking for a label willing to sign them! [Your feedback is much appreciated]
Naviguant entre trip-rock, cold-groove et dance-pop, BALBEC se joue de references diametrales et invite a la reverie multiforme. Impregnes de sejours dans les terres de Portishead et Tortoise, nourris de Stereolab et de Wedding Present, les 5 architectes nomades de BALBEC batissent leur edifice instable sur des influences seminales allant de Nick Drake a Mogwai.Sur pied depuis debut 2002, mais riche d experiences creatives puisant leur source au coeur de la vague indie puis post-rock des annees 90, BALBEC explore au fil des saisons des contrees nouvelles. Serez-vous du voyage ?

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 2/22/2006
Band Website: balbec.org
Band Members: Isabelle Ledru (lead vocals)
Gabriel Bareux (guitar & bass)
Stephane Donic (drums & guitar)
Laurent Pierre (guitar & drums)
Vincent Lenoir (bass)
Martin Leclerc (guitar, banjo & vocals)
Fanny de Premorel (vocals & bass)

Influences: Pixies, Mogwai, Portishead, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab, Radiohead, The Cure, Pavement, Moonshake, Girls Against Boys, Lali Puna, Hood, Boyracer, TV On The Radio, Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, The Notwist, Broken Social Scene, The Boo Radleys, The Wedding Present, Fugazi, Laika, The Wolf Parade, Yo La Tengo, The Byrds, Bloc Party, Blur, Gorillaz, The Beatles, The Strokes, The Clash, Grandaddy, Bashung, Archive, The Beach Boys, Elastica, The B52's, Arab Strap, Prince, Soul Coughing, Radio 4, Radiohead, Primal Scream, Sebadoh, Tricky, Sonic Youth, Henri Teixier, Pulp, Deltron 3030, Franz Ferdinand, Dionysos
Sounds Like: French reviews of From Mud To Gold
"ce disque transpire le génie"
"absolument magnifique"
"on est subjugué par la splendeur et la force musicale et émotionnelle"
"un morceau qui ferait verdir David Gedge"
"chant magique sur fond sonore minimaliste et ombrageux, superbe"

Read the full review on
A Découvrir Absolument

Addict convoque la hargne et la tension d'un Wedding Present période Seamonsters, ce qui n'est pas rien !"
"Superbe morceau chanté à deux, j'en redemande..."
"La voix d'Isabelle peut faire penser par moments à celle de Sarah Froning des excellents Perio"

Read this review on
Viva La Popa

UK reviews
"All the melodies are there, the playing is excellent and the production works well. ‘Yeah’ sticks out for the darker tones and heavier guitar riffs"
Read this review on
Guestlist Music Blog

"French lo-fi act balbec is 1 Demo Of The Week in July 2006"
Find more at
HHV 40 (ex- Naked Alien)

German review
"Chant brillament lumineux"
"From Mud To Gold était déjà absolument recommandable"
"Les nouveaux morceaux, particulièrement « Niggers » sont diablement bons"

Read this post in German on
Schallgrenzen.de
Record Label: None
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Gig report - Fallenfest contest

Here’s a look back at the three rounds of our Fallenfest Contest experience. Rounds 1 & 2 were performed à Capitol Studios in St-Ouen. Round 3 took place in the famous venue "Le Trabendo" in...
Posted by BALBEC on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:45:00 PST

Gig report - OPA, Paris, France, 20080228

2008 is a leap-year, and we had the opportunity to celebrate it in the Bastille area in Paris, on stage at the OPA, supporting our friends Blackpool and the excellent Japanese girl band The Suzan...
Posted by BALBEC on Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:44:00 PST

Gig report - Palais Bar, Paris, France, 20080214

Well yes,  we had this gig for Valentine's day, in an exotic venue called Le Palais Bar in Paris. We shared the stage with Stray, a bunch of cool and energetic guys. Our setlist wa...
Posted by BALBEC on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:43:00 PST

Gig report - Polichinelle, Paris, France, 20071209

We gigged yesterday in an unexpected venue in Paris, Le Polichinelle Café, with our friends Kokoon, that we met earlier in 2007 at the Shannon River Pub. We played one hour, the setlist was as fo...
Posted by BALBEC on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:18:00 PST

Some news from myspace and real life

A growing number of people are requesting our CDs (paypal or direct mail), which makes us glad because we value their interest in these material items, and the time we spent creating the artworkWe had...
Posted by BALBEC on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:44:00 PST

Gig report - El Inca, Bordeaux, France, 20071123

A short message to keep you updated. We've just come back from Bordeaux, where we had a great gig in small venue: El Inca While Isabelle came around by train, the trip to Bordeaux was quite ...
Posted by BALBEC on Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:20:00 PST

balbec's latest 4-track EP "Manufactured" uploaded

So far, we've reached 70,000 plays on myspace, thanks to ongoing support. To celebrate this, 4 new songs are now up on our profile. We recorded and mixed them in April/May 2007, and would like to than...
Posted by BALBEC on Sun, 17 Jun 2007 09:44:00 PST

balbec live in 1bis

[This is an event in Paris, sorry for those who are not french-speakers] Le 9 juin sera une journée un peu spéciale pour BALBEC Nous ferons un concert GRATUIT avec nos amis de HitchcockGoHome!, dans u...
Posted by BALBEC on Sun, 20 May 2007 02:06:00 PST

balbec additional recording session in progress

The 11 songs we recorded last year for Behind The Red Curtain will soon have 4 companion tracks. We spent this hot weekend with our favourite sound-engineer Mathieu V. recording the drums and ba...
Posted by BALBEC on Sun, 15 Apr 2007 01:42:00 PST

balbec selected in Belgian "Puredemo" contest

Dear listener, A little help from you would be oh so welcome. Just vote for our track if you like it on the following page :Vote for balbec on PuredemoWe might get a web-TV interview + podcast.....
Posted by BALBEC on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:52:00 PST